The North Carolina State Health Plan is following through on its promise to not only provide support when members are in need, but also provide the needed prevention tools to help members stay healthy. As part of these efforts, State Treasurer Brad Briner is announcing a new partnership targeting rural, more difficult to serve communities. Hello Heart, the digital leader in preventive heart health, will now work to empower eligible Plan members to better understand and improve their heart health.
Topics Related to SHP Press Release
The State Health Plan (Plan) Board of Trustees met today to set premiums for 2026. State Health Plan members include teachers, state employees and retirees. This is the final step in the three-pronged effort to provide financial stability as the Plan faces a half a billion-dollar deficit. The approved premiums include increases for active members and, notably, a cost reduction for some employees who choose to cover children on their plan. To lessen the financial burden on the state’s lowest paid employees, the Plan will be introducing salary-based premiums in 2026.
New no-cost, high-quality health care will soon be available for State Health Plan (Plan) members. Under a new agreement, set to begin in October, Plan members will have access to an innovative new surgical benefit as part of the efforts to reduce costs for members and help overcome the budget deficit. N.C. State Treasurer Brad Briner is announcing the Plan has signed into a partnership with Lantern, a Specialty Care Platform, giving members who need surgery access to Lantern’s network of the region’s top surgeons and specialists at no cost to them.
When the United States Supreme Court decided United States v. Skrmetti almost two weeks ago, we issued a press release notifying everyone we believed it would result in an order in Kadel v. Folwell, vacating the decision made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Today, the Supreme Court followed through as we expected. Once the full legal process is finalized in the coming weeks, we anticipate this will lead to the State Health Plan of North Carolina re-implementing the longstanding exclusion on transition-related medical care.
In response to today’s United States Supreme Court ruling in the United States v. Skrmetti case, N.C. Treasurer Brad Briner released the following statement:
State Treasurer Brad Briner’s effort to modernize and improve North Carolina’s investment strategy became law today. In a ceremony this morning at the executive mansion, the 2025 Investment Modernization Act was signed by Gov. Josh Stein. The landmark reforms in the legislation, House Bill 506, will shift sole responsibility of the investment decisions of the state pension plan from the treasurer to a newly created, multi-member Investment Authority tasked with increasing investment returns.
After months of negotiation, The Department of State Treasurer (DST), along with the State Health Plan (Plan), has reached an untenable impasse with CVS Caremark (Caremark) which refuses to honor its current contract with the State Health Plan. The negotiations with Caremark have been unsuccessful which potentially endangers the financial well-being of the Plan and its members who serve the state of North Carolina every day.
The State Health Plan (Plan) Board of Trustees met today to make pivotal decisions on the future direction of the Plan with actions to address its $507 million deficit. The board approved changes to benefits for the 2026 benefit year, which will begin Jan. 1, 2026. Member premiums will not be voted on until the August board meeting.
State Treasurer Brad Briner released the following statement in response to the House’s proposed state spending plan.“State House leaders have taken the needs of state employees to heart in this budget proposal,” Briner said. “The House proposal fully funds the pension plan and increases funding to the State Health Plan to help in our effort to provide affordable, high-quality health care for state workers. Investments made in salary increases and cost-of-living bonuses will help ensure that the state can retain top talent.”
State Treasurer Brad Briner released the following statement on the Senate’s proposed budget spending plan.